PREPARATORY work for the £17m scheme to provide a new sea wall at Redcar is getting under way this month.

The project will cut the risk of coastal flooding to 1,000 homes and businesses.

In conjunction with the sea wall scheme Redcar and Cleveland Council is planning a range of sea-front improvements, including a “vertical pier” to house various facilities.

Environment Agency contractors will be carrying out extensive ground surveying in Redcar as part of detailed design work for new flood defences for the town.

The Environment Agency scheme will raise the sea wall and replace the crumbling defences, which currently require regular repairs. The improvements take account of rising sea levels caused by climate change and are intended to reduce coastal erosion and flood risk for the next 100 years.

The new defences will stretch for 2.7k, from Coatham to the east end of the Stray.

Environment Agency project manager James Mead said: “Before we can produce a design that works, we need a detailed knowledge of the ground conditions.

“Our contractors will be digging trial pits and drilling boreholes along the beach and promenade from Coatham and along the Stray. We will take samples of the soils and rocks but will only be working on one small area at a time, which should minimise any disruption.”

Work is expected to start this autumn and should take two years to complete.

The Environment Agency is working with Redcar and Cleveland Council to incorporate new landscaping as part of the flood defence scheme.

The Environment Agency had allocated funds for a basic landscaping design and the council has secured funds to pay for other improvements.

Councillor Mark Hannon, the council’s Cabinet member for Economic Development, said: “We are all really pleased this work is getting underway. The terrible winter weather we’ve had has underlined just how necessary these defences will be.

“Anyone who has been down to the promenade area will have seen the power of the sea as waves have come crashing over the top. So I’ve absolutely no doubt these new defences will improve public safety.”